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Land which for centuries has been called Axwell, is overlooked by the two hills of Whickham to the east and Winlaton to the west and is divided by the river Derwent. The name Axwell is corruption of the Anglo-Saxon Ak Shiels, which means cottages in the oak wood. The two hill tops were underlain by a series of coal seams which were exploited from as early as the 14th century. By the mid 16th century the area was one of the most industrialised in England.
From about the 1550s the story of Axwell is largely that of the two families which controlled it: the Selbys and later the Claverings. The Selbys had coal mining interests in the area and lived in the Whitehouse which was located about 200 yards south west of the present Axwell Hall. The waggon way constructed by William Selby followed a path through the present larch woods and thence along the present Axwell Park Road and onwards to the staithes at Derwenthaugh.
In the 17th century it became necessary to manage the water table as water was accumulating in the pits so Selby diverted water from the River Derwent at Winlaton Mill thus creating a large mill pond which is now the present lake at Axwell Park.
Bad management and a profligate lifestyle meant that on William’s death the family began to sell off their land in order to settle his debts and in 1629 James Clavering bought the estate of Axwell cum Swalwell for his son John. By the end of the English Civil war the Protestant Claverings had a firm foothold in Axwell.
For several generations coal was the mainstay of the Clavering dynasty and in the latter part of the 18th century Sir Thomas inherited a sufficient fortune to enable him, amongst other things, to engage the noted architect James Payne to design what is now Axwell Hall.
In the last quarter of the 19th century Harry Augustus Clavering developed ornamental pleasure grounds including two lawns for tennis and bowls and planted fashionable rhododendron and narcissi. He created an island in the lake and built a suspension bridge which is now largely destroyed.
For want of a male heir the estate passed to The Reverend John Warren Napier who in 1894 adopted the name Napier-Clavering. The last of the line at Axwell was Charles Warren Napier-Clavering, an army officer whose income would not support the estate, and in December 1920 he was given permission to dispose of the hall and grounds.
With other like-minded colleagues he formed a syndicate and, amongst other projects, bought the Axwell Estate on October 1920 for £25000. Almost immediately the estate was broken up, the hall for example being purchased by the Newcastle and Industrial Ragged Boys School.
In 1923 William Wakinshaw, his brother’s beneficiary became part of a syndicate of 14 which purchased the land which has now become the Axwell Park Building Estate. A plan of the Estate as it was when the Deed of Mutual Covenant was drawn up can be accessed here.
The layout of the estate was the work of Messrs Mauchlin and Weightman, a noted Newcastle firm of architects, who also designed a small number of houses which were built by the syndicate as examples of what was required. These were 2 to 8 Axwell Park Road, Rose Cottage in Shibdon Way and 32 to 38 Axwell Park Road. The principal road, Axwell Park Road, was now overlaid on top of the track which had carried the Selby waggon way of 1635.
The syndicate also commissioned the building of a wooden foot bridge over the lake, to allow access to the recreational field, at a cost of £155. Since then building plots have been sold off and developed with dwellings in a range of styles representing the mode of the time. At the time of writing this only two empty plots remain and the roads remain un-adopted.
By 1998 it became clear that the wooden bridge was unsafe and the Management Committee of the estate took on the monumental task of replacing it. Through the expertise, dedication and hard work of a small number of residents the new steel bridge was completed in December 2000, mimicking the design of the original wooden structure.
Early in the new century the estate took the opportunity to purchase the site of the Blaydon Methodist Tennis Club and this area now boasts a tarmac tennis court and a children’s play area. The field is managed to provide a special place for all residents of Axwell Park Building Estate to enjoy as well as for hosting social events such as BBQ and Bonfire parties.
The woodland has come under active management and bluebells which have been growing there for well over 70 years are establishing themselves again.
The bridge supports a plaque in memory of William Selby who created the lake and brings us almost full circle.
This text is adapted from the pamphlet ‘Axwell, a Short History of Where We Live’ by Jim Kennedy, with his permission.
A full copy of this interesting text is available from Jim at a modest cost.